During the late 1980s and early 1990s there were many cases of financial crime brought to trial (in both the state and federal courts) including three very high profile cases: Leona Helmsley, accused of tax evasion, Michael Milkin, accused of insider trading on Wall Street, and the looting of the North American Savings & Loan Company most notably by Janet Faye McKinzie.
Although there is no consistent pattern in sentencing, there was some tendency to impose harsher penalties on financial criminals than in previous years.
In all three cases cited above, penalties included jail time of several years with no chance of parole in the first two to three years, financial penalties, restitution to those cheated, and community service hours.
In some of the less known cases, penalties were less severe.
The sentencing in the McKinzie case was part of a trend of stiff sentences for white-collar criminals involved in the savings and loan scandal.
Some judges stated that they imposed harsh sentences to set an example to others.
Other judges claimed that their purpose in sentencing was a response to the seriousness of the individual cases they were trying.
On the other hand, in several instances, complaints about financial crimes to the US Department of Labor and other government agencies went unheeded.
Labor ignored numerous complaints of pension plans being defrauded claiming they were too understaffed to respond.
As a result, many workers discovered upon retirement that their pension money no longer existed.
